Frans Pourbus the ElderGaëlle Brackez, ''Frans Pourbus de oudere (1545-1581) Een blik op zijn leven en oeuvre volume i: tekst'', Masterproef voorgelegd aan de Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte, Vakgroep Kunst -, Muziek- en Theaterwetenschappen, voor het verkrijgen van de graad van Master, Universiteit Gent Academiejaar 2011 -2012 (Bruges, 1545 – Antwerp, 19 September 1581) was a

Flemish Renaissance The Renaissance in the Low Countries was a cultural period in the Northern Renaissance that took place in around the 16th century in the Low Countries (corresponding to modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands and French Flanders). Culture in the Low C ...

painter who is known primarily for his portraits and religious compositions, as well as a few genre scenes.Frans Pourbus the Elder, attributed to, ''Merry company''
at Lempertz He was the son of the prominent Bruges painter and

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

Pieter Pourbus Pieter Jansz. Pourbus (c. 1523–1584) was a Flemish Renaissance painter, draftsman, engineer and cartographer who was active in Bruges during the 16th century. He is known primarily for his religious and portrait paintings.

and the father of

Frans Pourbus the Younger Frans Pourbus the Younger (1569–1622) was a Flemish painter, son of Frans Pourbus the Elder and grandson of Pieter Pourbus. He was born in Antwerp and died in Paris. He is also referred to as "Frans II". Pourbus worked for many of the highly ...

who became an international portraitist of the European ruling class.Frans Pourbus (I)
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

Life

Frans Pourbus was born in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

as the son of the prominent painter

was originally from Gouda and had moved with his family to Bruges at a very young age. Here he had made a career as a painter of portraits and religious compositions. The mother of Frans was Anna Blondeel, the daughter of

Lancelot Blondeel Lancelot Blondeel, also Lanceloot (1498 – 4 March 1561), was a Flemish painter, designer of sculptures, tapestries and jewelry, architect, city planner, surveyor and cartographer who was active in Bruges. By 1564 the artist was registered as working in the workshop of

Frans Floris Frans Floris, Frans Floris the Elder or Frans Floris de Vriendt (17 April 15191 October 1570) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print artist and tapestry designer. He is mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits.< ...

in Antwerp.Frans Pourbus the Elder, ''Portrait of a man''
at Sotheby's Frans Floris was mainly known for his

history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...

s and portraits. Floris played an important role in the movement in Northern Renaissance painting referred to as

Romanism Romanism is a derogatory term for Roman Catholicism used when anti-Catholicism was more common in the United States. The term was frequently used in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Republican invectives against the Democrats, as par ...

. The Romanists had typically travelled to Italy to study the works of leading Italian

High Renaissance In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...

artists such as

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

and their followers. Their art assimilated these Italian influences into the Northern painting tradition.Carl Van de Velde. "Frans Floris I." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 26 March 2015 It is likely that Frans Pourbus' father knew Frans Floris personally and had sent his son to study with the leading Italianising painter in Flanders. Frans Floris soon recognised the talent of his new pupil and allowed him to complete his unfinished canvases. In the Floris workshop Pourbus acquired a more painterly style.M.J. Friedländer, 'Frans Pourbus der Ältere', Oud-Holland 62 (1947), p. 60-67 According to the contemporary Flemish biographer

Karel van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remembe ...

Pourbus intended to travel to Italy in 1566, a trip taken by many of his fellow artists at the time, but abandoned his plans after traveling from Antwerp to Ghent to visit the painter-poet

Lucas de Heere Lucas de Heere (1534 – 29 August 1584) was a Flemish painter, poet and writer. His costume books and portraits are a valuable resource in depicting 16th-century clothing. Biography Lucas de Heere, a Protestant, was born in Ghent, the ...

. Karel van Mander was at the time a pupil of de Heere.Frans Pourbus, called the Elder, ''Portrait of a man, possibly a self-portrait''
at Marty de Cambiaire Van Mander recounts that Pourbus clearly did not have his heart in his trip to Italy as he had lost it to the niece of his master. Pourbus travelled back to Antwerp where he married Suzanna Floris, the niece of his master Frans Floris and daughter of Cornelis Floris de Vriendt, a prominent sculptor and architect. Frans Pourbus (I) - The crucifixion of St

Frans Pourbus (I) - The crucifixion of St

Pourbus and his wife had a son also named

Frans Frans is an Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish given name, sometimes as a short form of ''François''. One cognate of Frans in English is ''Francis''. Given name * Frans van Aarssens (1572–1641), Dutch diplomat ...

in 1569. This son became a portrait painter with an international career and was known as Frans Pourbus the Younger. The couple had three more children of whom two died in childhood. In the year 1569 Frans Pourbus was registered as a master of the Guild of Saint Luke in Bruges as well as the Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp. In 1572 Pourbus took on Rochtus Gabrelius da Bresson as a pupil and in 1575 Peeter Cobbe became his pupil. In 1572 Pourbus was contacted by the prominent portrait painter

Anthonis Mor Anthonis Mor, also known as Anthonis Mor van Dashorst and Antonio Moro (c. 1517 – 1577), was a Netherlandish portrait painter, much in demand by the courts of Europe. He has also been referred to as Antoon, Anthonius, Anthonis or Mor van Dashor ...

for assistance in finding apprentices in Antwerp. This may have resulted in closer contacts between the artists and an opportunity for Pourbus to become familiar with the work of Mor, then the leading portrait painter in the Low Countries. It has been suggested that his mature work shows the influence of Mor. Pourbus' wife died in 1578. The artist remarried Anna Mahieu, the daughter of the painter Jan Mahieu. They had a son who was called Moses, a name which confirms that they were

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

s. This religious affiliation possibly explains why after 1577 he specialised increasingly in portraiture as Calvinists generally were opposed to religious paintings. Pourbus was a standard-bearer of the civil guard. He became critically ill during the performance of his civil guard duties. He caught typhoid fever by resting near a sewer pipe in the guardhouse where he was stationed. He died as a result on 19 September 1581. His father survived him. His widow married the painter Hans Jordaens the Elder. In addition to Rochtus Gabrelius da Bresson and Peeter Cobbe, the pupils of Frans Pourbus included his son Frans and Gortzius Geldorp.

Work

MSK Frans I Pourbus Portret van een jonge vrouw 17-03-2009 11-50-46

General

Frans Pourbus is known primarily for his religious and portrait paintings and to a lesser extent genre paintings. His portrait sitters were mainly from the rising mercantile class.Frans Pourbus I, ''Portrait of an unknown man''
at Galerie Lowet de Wotrenge He also painted a few genre scenes. Karel van Mander wrote that Pourbus was also particularly skilled in painting animals and trees after nature.

History paintings

Frans Pourbus received many commissions for religious compositions from patrons outside Antwerp.Frans Pourbus the Elder
at the National Gallery He painted 14 panels representing the History of Saint Andrew (1572) and a Triptych of Viglius Aytta (1571) for the

St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent Saint Bavo's Cathedral, also known as Sint-Baafs Cathedral ( nl, Sint Baafskathedraal), is a cathedral of the Catholic Church in Ghent, Belgium. The 89-meter-tall Gothic building is the seat of the Diocese of Ghent and is named for Saint Bavo of ...

. In 1574 Frans Pourbus the Elder received an important commission from the St. Martin's Abbey in

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

to redecorate the choir of the abbey church after the damage caused by the

Iconoclastic Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...

fury of the

Beeldenstorm ''Beeldenstorm'' () in Dutch and ''Bildersturm'' in German (roughly translatable from both languages as 'attack on the images or statues') are terms used for outbreaks of destruction of religious images that occurred in Europe in the 16th centu ...

of 1566. He painted 17 works in three series: a series of the Passion of Christ, which was placed in the choir, a series of the Crucified Christ with the thieves, which was placed in the high altar while the pendants were integrated in the paneling above the choir stalls. The reverse sides of the panels depicting stories from the Life of Saint Martin were visible along the choir aisle.Treatment of the series of paintings by Frans Pourbus the Elder with the Passion of Christ and the Life of St Martin
(1574, Episcopal seminary in Tournai)

Portraits

During Pourbus' lifetime a number of portrait painters were active in the Habsburg Netherlands. Because of the similarities in style, the works of Pourbus and his near contemporaries Mor and Adriaen Thomasz. Key are regularly misattributed to each other. Frans Pourbus I - Portrait of an unknown man

Frans Pourbus I - Portrait of an unknown man

Most of the sitters for Pourbus' portraits were from the rising middle class. He also painted portraits of the higher clergy, some local aristocrats and a few foreign dignitaries. Not many of the sitters have been identified with certainty. Works with identified sitters include the ''portrait of Viglius van Aytta'', a Dutch statesman and jurist, and the ''portrait of Abraham Grapheus''. There are some differences of view among art historians about the identification of some of the sitters. In his portraits Frans Pourbus demonstrates an acute power of observation and psychological insight. This is evidenced in the ''Portrait of an unknown man'' (At Galerie Lowet de Wotrenge). The features of the man in this portrait are highly individualized through the subtle modelling of the face, flesh, cheekbones, nose and eyes. His neatly trimmed beard is rendered with remarkable precision and is set off by his closely concertinaed

ruff Ruff may refer to: Places *Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community *Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community Other uses *Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader fami ...

. The sitter engages the viewer directly with his gaze and his slightly frowned brow gives him a contemplative aspect. The portrait demonstrates Pourbus' mastery in giving a psychological insight into his sitters. Pourbus' success as a portrait painter can probably also be attributed to his in depicting the accoutrements of wealth in his sitters. Frans Pourbus I - The Hoefnagel family

Pourbus also painted family portraits, of which at least two have been preserved. One represents the ''Hoefnagel family'' (c. 1580,

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (french: Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België) are a group of art museums in Brussels, Belgium. They include six museums: the Oldmasters Muse ...

). It shows the principal members of the prominent Antwerp family Hoefnagel, which included the prominent painter

Joris Hoefnagel Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542, in Antwerp – 24 July 1601, in Vienna) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant. He is noted for his illustrations of natural history subjects, topographical views, ...

, around a table. The work is believed to represent the wedding of Balthasar Hoefnagel and Anna van Lieffelt. The family portrait was commissioned by Balthasar Hoefnagel (before 1554-1608), which explains the initials 'BH' near the spinet on the table. It is plausible that the family portrait is related to a marriage of Balthasar and Anna van Lieffelt, who can be recognized on the left of the panel as the bride and groom. For this occasion Balthasar also commissioned from Pourbus two additional portraits of himself and his wife, which were still unpaid to Pourbus at the time of his death, according to a record of his estate. The family portrait of the Hoefnagel family depicts twenty people in a genre-like composition arranged around a table. As far as the family composition can be determined at the time the painting was made, it can be deduced that Balthasar had three brothers: Joris, Melchior and Daniël and four sisters: Elizabeth, Margareta, Suzanna and Catharina. Suzanna is the girl with the parrot and the boy on her lap. Pourbus included on the left side a portrait of himself holding a lute in his hand. The elegant clothing of the family members expresses their important social status. The scene was painted in a soft style, which shows the influence of

Genre paintings

A few genre paintings have been attributed to Frans Pourbus. These paintings fall mainly in the genre of the so-called merry companies. The key work is the ''Prodigal son among courtesans'' ( Museum Mayer van den Bergh). It depicts a merry company known as a ''buitenpartij'', i.e. a scene of people from the middle class enjoying an outdoor party rather than the lowly peasant scenes that were often the subject of genre paintings. Another example is the ''Merry company'' (At Lempertz auction of 21 November 2009, lot 1018B). The male and female participants in this composition are wearing clothes in the latest fashion such as high hats, puffed pants and ruff collars. They are enjoying themselves in the outdoors in a garden with plenty of food, drink, music and dance. The scene also includes a black page and a jester. The composition includes allusions to the aristocratic pursuit of hunting such as the dog in the foreground and the falcon on the right. Some couples on the right have separated themselves from the revelers at the table and their amorous intentions are all too clear. Frans Pourbus (I) Gesellschaft im Freien

Frans Pourbus (I) Gesellschaft im Freien

In most cases the moralizing message of a 'buitenpartij' is to warn the viewers to distance themselves from the pleasures and excesses depicted, as these should be morally condemned as a frivolous waste of time and as worldly vanity. One of the origins of the type of the "buitenpartij" is the pictorial tradition of religious representations of a Biblical subject such as "The Prodigal Son", in which a moral story is told through depictions of drunken feasts with erotic overtones. It is possible that Pourbus also intended to convey such a religious or moralising message in his buitenpartijen.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pourbus, Frans 1 1545 births 1581 deaths Flemish portrait painters Flemish history painters Flemish genre painters Flemish Renaissance painters Artists from Bruges Artists from Antwerp